Aimone

“EVERY CONVENTION WAS A SPECIAL MOMENT” DURING HIS SIX YEARS AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM 2007-13.

LEADING A NATIONAL organization always has its challenges, but, in 2007, when Logan Aimone became the executive director, adapting to change was Job One.

“Taking over at a time when there was a huge transition in the field of journalism was definitely the greatest challenge I faced,” Aimone said.

“There was a massive recession in 2007 and then the housing market fell in 2008,” he said. “Add to that the collapse of the business model for advertising dollars, the influx of social media, websites, camera phones that made everyone a citizen journalist and a justdo-it-online mentality, and you have a formula for rethinking current practices.”

Falling ad revenue and budget cuts especially affected collegiate publications. By 2009-10, a number of them saw their financial base in free fall.

“Classified ads that had been a strong revenue source were drying up, and advertising revenue in general was slipping,” Aimone said. “For some, that meant there was no money to attend conventions and workshops, and there was pressure to publish online.

“All of that affected our bottom line, too. Although the colleges have been able to weather that storm, we saw a significant reduction in daily newspapers. Many who had published five days a week were publishing a printed paper three days a week and increasing their online presence.”

Redefining the focus of the organizations was a bit of an educational guessing game for Aimone and the staff.

“We looked at what was happening in the industry and tried to figure out which things would have impact and which would stick around.” Aimone said. “Then we changed what we did — speakers and sponsored activities — to help our members and to serve student media.”

In 2009, NSPA hit a milestone when it published the first-ever guidebook for online journalism.

“Prior to the guidebook, there were no established standards for online journalism,” Aimone said. “Judges would just respond to what appealed to them so schools didn’t have any best practices to follow.

“After the guidebook was available, there was an uptick in the number of contests and school websites. Ultimately critiques went up significantly, too.”

Aimone said the guidebook was an important contribution to student media.

“Setting standards — that’s the role of a national organization,” he said. “The state press associations looked to NSPA for guidance and fell in line with their own judging criteria that reflected the national guidebook.”

The organizations set standards also with a strong internal infrastructure. It established policies and procedures for the organizations, with renewed financial accountability and oversight.

“A lot of that work was done behind the scenes,” Aimone said. “Marc Wood, who worked for the organizations about 15 years, deserves to be recognized. He did more than anyone to keep things running smoothly during transition times. He set up membership data bases, established procedures for convention registration and kept us going.”

Aimone, who taught journalism at Wenatachee High School (Washington) for 10 years prior to joining NSPA/ACP, said a highlight was the national conventions.

“Every convention was a special moment,” he said. “It’s one place where you see the tangible results for your work and what your work has enabled. There’s nothing better than announcing awards at the awards ceremony and seeing the excitement from the staffs whether they are winning their first or their 20th Pacemaker, or supporting one of their staff members as they win an individual award.

“I remember the thrill of sitting with my own staffs during those ceremonies, and then as executive director I celebrated with every staff.”

Aimone returned to the classroom in 2015 with a teaching position at University of Chicago Laboratory School. Being a classroom teacher, NSPA/ACP executive director and again as a classroom teacher gives Aimone a distinct perspective.

“I think I have a greater understanding of what goes on behind the scenes with the organizations, and I have the benefit of two vantage points for the same student work,” he said.

“That makes a difference in understanding the decisions we made at NSPA/ACP resulted in changes in standards and that continues to have a big impact on what is taught in the classroom.

“I just have deep feelings that you can’t have the same professional feel without the national organization setting standards and validating successes.” n

ON-SITE CRITIQUE

Providing suggestions for improving their newspaper, Logan Aimone, executive director, meets with the editors of Eyrie, Eden Prairie High School (Minnesota) during the 2008 NSPA Summer Workshop at the University of Minnesota.

TEAM NSPA/ACP

In 2008, the NSPA/ACP crew enjoys a team dinner at convention: Kathy Huting, contest and critique coordinator; Marc Wood, communications director; Mike Gesellchen, administrative assistant; Emily Griesser, member services director and Logan Aimone, executive director.

GETTING READY

NSPA/ACP handled registration at both the high school and college conventions. Jacqueline Flaum, administrative assistant and Logan Aimone executive director, prepare to open the registration desk at the 2011 National College Media Convention in Orlando, Florida.

MITSU

KLOS, executive director from 201315, announces NSPA awards at the 2014 convention in Washington, D.C. With 6,406 delegates, the convention was the largest in history.

Informal Meeting